PLAINFIELD — Switching off the lights at night, replacing old equipment, and a strategic partnership have helped trim Plainfield schools’ energy spending by $1.2 million during the past two years, according to district officials.

In the 27 months since the Plainfield Board of Education entered into a contract with Cenergistic, a company that advises school districts on how to conserve energy, the district has spent $1,165,659 less than projected on utilities, according to Gary Ottman, the district’s business administrator.

The biggest savings have resulted from changing everyday behavior, said Michael Pate, who was hired by Plainfield to serve as an energy specialist. Pate oversees the district’s utilities, monitoring monthly bills, performing regular audits and serving as a liaison between Cenergistic’s specialists and faculty.

“Our school district has reduced its energy usage by modifying our staff’s attitude to become energy conscious,” Pate said. “It’s all behavior-based. It’s changing people’s way of thinking.”

In meetings with teachers, principals and other faculty, Pate stressed the importance of turning off lights when a room is vacant, shutting down computers at night, and even unplugging some “vampire power” devices such as televisions during long breaks, which he said can draw a small charge even when they’re powered off.

“It sounds minute, turning off one computer monitor that might cost $25 a year to power. But when you have 2,500 computer monitors, that’s big money,” Pate said.
The district’s utility budget — which covers gas, electric and water — was $2.3 million this year, Ottman said.

“Our goal is to be able to use (the money saved) for instruction, direct costs that really impact the students,” said Superintendent Anna Belin-Pyles. “As you’re saving over a period of time, it provides the opportunity to address any shortfalls you might have in the budget.”

Reductions in electricity use have accounted for 60 percent of the savings thus far, said Pate, which could be attributed equally to behavioral changes and replacing an outdated HVAC system.

Cenergistic is a Texas-based conservation advisory firm with 1,200 clients across the country. According to its website, 26 school districts in New Jersey have deals with Cenergistic, including Westfield, New Brunswick and Bloomfield.

According to the 10-year contract Plainfield signed in 2011, the district pays Cenergistic $30,900 per month for the first four years, which comes to around $1.44 million. Those costs are written into the utility budget, Ottman said. For six years after that, the school will make no payments but will continue to work with Cenergistic specialists, he said.

At the beginning of the contract, Cenergistic sent specialists to audit every part of the school’s infrastructure and energy use and devised a plan to reduce costs, Pate said. Now when he encounters a problem with the utilities, the company will immediately dispatch experts to the district to diagnose the problem, he said.

“In the long run, the savings greatly trump the spending,” Ottman said. “Based on the return-on-investment, and the ability to reallocate these resources for instructional programs, it’s a win-win.”